A group of Catholic bishops on Tuesday came out in support of the LGBT community, urging all people of “good will” to help and defend at-risk LGBT youth.
In a statement released by the Tyler Clementi Foundation, an organization that advocates against the bullying of LGBT and other marginalized communities, bishops from several American dioceses spoke out against the bullying and harassment of community members.
The bishops stated that “Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that that LGBT people are to be treated with ‘respect, compassion and sensitivity.’ “
“All people of goodwill should help, support, and defend LGBT youth; who attempt suicide at much higher rates than their straight counterparts; who are often homeless because of families who reject them; who are rejected, bullied and harassed; and who are the target of violent acts at alarming rates,” the group of 10 bishops continued.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), members of the LGBT community, specifically transgender individuals of color, are at increased risk of violence committed against them based on their gender identity. The HRC reports that at least 37 transgender and gender non-conforming people were killed in the U.S. in 2020.
LGBT high school youth are two to seven times more likely than their heterosexual peers to attempt suicide, according to Youth.gov. LGBT youth in general are two times more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to think about suicide, according to the organization.
The bishops concluded their statement, saying, “the Catholic Church values the God-given dignity of all human life and we take this opportunity to say to our LGBT friends, especially young people, that we stand with you and oppose any form of violence, bullying or harassment directed at you.”
The statement from the Catholic bishops comes one day after the Biden administration repealed former President Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. President Biden signed an executive order that “sets the policy that all Americans who are qualified to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States should be able to serve.”
The news also comes after more than 370 spiritual leaders in December called for a ban on conversion therapy, a practice deemed harmful to LGBT people by the American Psychological Association that includes methods such as institutionalization, castration and electroshock therapy in the hopes of altering one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.